Turkey fasicsits regime warns US over ‘Kurdish corridor’ in Syria, India considering 'boots on the ground' to back Assad and Putin planed ceasefire so the SAA ca

Turkey  fasicsits regime warns US over ‘Kurdish corridor’ in Syria, India considering 'boots on the ground' to back Assad and Putin planed ceasefire so the SAA ca.



Turkey warns US over ‘Kurdish corridor’ in Syria
The Turkish army has expressed concerns to the United States’ top military figure over Syrian Kurdish groups’ attempts to create a “Kurdish corridor” in northern Syria and change the demographic structure of the region to the advantage of Kurds. 

The messages were delivered to Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who held talks with Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu on Jan 6. 

Dunford, the highest-ranking military officer of the U.S., visited U.S. troops stationed in Turkey’s İncirlik Base following talks in Ankara. 

Military-to-military talks focused on the joint fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and on developments in Syria and Iraq, as well as other regional issues, daily Hürriyet learned. 

One of the most important issues the Turkish army raised was the attempts of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) in crossing the Euphrates River and therefore entering the Azaz-Jarablus corridor. 

Turkey claims the PYD is an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and, ergo, “terrorists” even though the U.S. and other anti-ISIL coalition members see them as a legitimate political party. 

“We are aware of their desires and attempts to establish a Kurdish corridor along the Turkish border by entering the Azaz-Jarablus line. We have declared so many times that Turkey will never accept this,” a security source said. 

The Syrian Democratic Forces (QSD), a coalition composed of Kurds, Turkmens, Christians and Arabs, succeeded in seizing control of the strategically important Teshrin Dam on the Euphrates River, but Ankara has complained that 85 percent of the coalition consists of PYD members. 

“Turkey is in favor of the protection of the territorial integrity of Syria. We are sensitive on this issue,” a source said about one of the key messages given to Dunford.

PYD commits demographic change 

The Turkish army also claimed that intelligence has shown that the PYD is continuing its efforts to change the demographic structure of the region by forcing Arabs and Turkmens to leave the area. “Attempts at demographic change should not be tolerated,” a source said. 

Committed in the fight against the ISIL

The two countries’ military teams discussed the ongoing fight against ISIL inside Syria and potential joint operations to be conducted to create an ISIL-free territory along the 98-kilometer strip of the Turkish border, known as the Marea-Jarablus line. 

The Turkish Chief of General Staff expressed Turkey’s commitment in the fight against ISIL and said recent measures taken to close the border were explicit proof of this commitment. However, he criticized some anonymous U.S. soldiers for reportedly proposing the deployment of 30,000 Turkish troops along the border to stop infiltrations by ISIL members, describing these ideas as “palliative” and “imaginary.”

The Turkish army suggested that ISIL’s presence in Jarablus could well be defeated through an intensified aerial military campaign. 

Russian impact on anti-ISIL fight 

The two top soldiers also discussed developments following the downing of a Russianwarplane by the Turkish Air Force and its impacts on the joint anti-ISIL operations. Turkey complained about Russian threats of retaliation against Turkish warplanes, which forced Turkey to stop flying over Syria to take part in anti-ISIL fights. 


http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-warns-us-over-kurdish-corridor-in-syria.aspx?pageID=238&;nID=93509&NewsCatID=352

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Syria role buzz as Assad aides plan tripCharu Sudan KasturiNew Delhi, Jan. 6: Two top aides of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will visit India over the next fortnight for talks to draw New Delhi for the first time into a critical role in resolving their nation's brutal civil war that has spawned the Islamic State.

Deputy Prime Minister Walid al-Moualem, on January 13 and Assad's political adviser Bouthaina Shabaan on January 19 are expected to pitch to India a ceasefire-monitor role, which New Delhi is willing to explore, two senior officials have told The Telegraph .

They will be the senior-most Syrian leaders to visit India since the start in 2011 of the civil war that is estimated to have claimed over 2.5 lakh civilian lives, and their trips coincide with a shift in New Delhi's approach to a crisis it has largely tried to sit out so far.

India has repeatedly made clear that it will assume any role in Syria only under a UN mandate that for the past four years had appeared elusive. But in November, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the US, Russia, China, France and the UK - pledged to back a "UN-endorsed ceasefire monitoring mission" in Syria.

US secretary of state John Kerry declared in December for the first time that Assad's removal from power was a matter for Syrians to decide, suggesting a pullback from Washington's search for a regime change in Damascus.

India, increasingly worried about the spread of the IS beyond Iraq and Syria - where the outfit was born - has in recent weeks publicly signalled a willingness to drop the shyness that till now characterised its relationship with Damascus.

"India seems to be stretching itself a little more to douse the flames in Syria," Aftab Kamal Pasha, professor in West Asian Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, told The Telegraph . "And I think we'll see more of that during the visits (of the two aides)."

Participation in a ceasefire mission will mean Indian boots on the ground in Syria for the first time, though not in any active military role. Indian soldiers have played a ceasefire-monitoring role on multiple occasions in Africa. The role, different from peacekeeping, involves a purely supervisory job, and the Security Council's permanent members have made clear ceasefire-monitoring teams will only be deployed in those parts of Syria where they aren't at danger from terrorists.

But the borders of territories held by the Assad government, the officially recognised mainstream Opposition parties - which must along with Damascus agree to a ceasefire first - and the IS and other terror groups in Syria are fluid.

Within the Indian strategic establishment, however, worries over the expansion of the IS are rising - and the willingness to play a more direct role, if New Delhi can, is increasing.

Only about two dozen Indian nationals are known to have joined the IS, compared to thousands from western Europe. But New Delhi remains concerned that without adequate caution, that dam could break at some stage.

"Indian-looking" faces - like that of suspected IS militant of British-Indian origin Siddhartha Dhar - could also serve as recruitment tools for the group in India, fear counter-terrorism officials. Dhar is suspected as the potential face behind the latest round IS executions recorded on camera and made public by the group.

The recent tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia over Riyadh's execution of a prominent Shia cleric have also deepened India's worries that any consensus towards a resolution in Syria could fall apart.

India and Syria have since 2014 quietly strengthened intelligence co-operation, including sharing details of Indian nationals known to have entered the West Asian nation. But New Delhi, despite prodding from both the US and Syria, has remained aloof so far to a larger mediatory role.

That approach has shown cracks in recent months amid quiet discussions between India and Russia - including during the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Moscow - on a potential role as a ceasefire monitor in Syria.

Foreign minister Sushma Swaraj held talks with Al-Moualem, also Syria's foreign minister, in New York in September on the margins of the UN General Assembly - a meeting Damascus had long sought.

On December 16, defence minister Manohar Parrikar said publicly that India would consider joining a UN-mandated force in Syria. On December 24, Prime Minister Modi said India shared Russia's views that the Syrian crisis needed to be resolved "through an early political settlement" - backing a UN-sponsored ceasefire and subsequent talks for a resolution.




http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160107/jsp/nation/story_62590.jsp#.Vo2l0PkrLrc